Talk about longevity. I've just embarked on my fifth playthrough of cult classic Crackdown on the 360 - and once again I'm thoroughly hooked!

As if bounding about the place collecting those infernal agility orbs wasn't addictive enough the first time round, resurrecting all the gangs and scaling the tallest towers to find the final few glowing green globdules is still consuming my every spare moment. It just never gets dull.

As news of the sequel finds its way into the public domain I've come to realise just how much I loved the original and had to go back for more.

And I've just discovered the delights of co-op play - and now share the experience with fellow blogging cohort Ibwib (apologies for the many friendly fire incidents!). The dip in, dip out mechanic works superbly, allowing a fellow agent to jump into the middle of your game to offer assistance.

Despite the many hours already invested in this fantastic game, I've still only gained around half the achievements and am yet to impound the required vehicles, complete the many rooftop races or max out my driving skills.

Unlike other games in the sandbox genre, there really is a sense of freedom in Pacific City - and racing around each of the three districts offers plenty of variety. The gangs are suitably varied too and there's a noticeable increase in difficulty as the game progresses. Try tackling some of the tougher bosses without taking out the lesser guys first - no matter how souped up your agent is - and you'll soon find yourself regenerating with irritating regularity!

No doubt I'll keep on replaying Crackdown even after my latest stint - and will probably complete it a few more times over the coming months - until the sequel makes a welcome appearance.

I'd been pretty critical on some forums in recent months, bemoaning the fact that the aptly-named Crackdown 2 will be set in the same old city, with no new streets to roam and no new buildings to climb. But having read the latest teasers on numerous websites and watched the new trailer below, I'm starting to come round to the idea. Why change a winning formula anyway?

This was the first game I played to death when I pulled my shiny Xbox out of its packaging for the first time all those years ago - and despite investing many paypackets in a glut of heavily hyped titles since, nothing quite comes close to the enjoyment I've experienced with Crackdown.

Looks like the sequel will offer more of the same gaming goodness but with larger explosions, a bigger emphasis on online play and of course, zombie-like locals! It's been a long time coming but I've no doubt it will be one of the hits of 2010... and I'll be first in the queue to pick up my copy!

In the meantime Agent, why not chase down those final few achievements?


(Photo credits: DavidHT, Major Nelson)